Lecture 5 Flashcards
not whether attitudes are related to behavior, but when
Fishbein & Ajzen (1974): measure attitude toward religiosity with five standard methods
- measure 100 behaviors relevant to religiosity
- all 5 measures of attitudes were strongly correlated
- correlation between attitude and single behaviors: r < .15
- correlation between attitude and multiple behaviors: r > .60
principle of compatibility
theory of reasoned action
explains how attitudes and social norms influence behavioral intention, which predicts actual behavior
Theory of planned behavior
expands on the theory of reasoned action by adding perceived behavioral control
testing the theory of planned behavior (meta analysis results)
theory of reasoned goal pursuit (Ajzen & Kruglanski)
integrates the theory of planned behavior with goal pursuit, emphasizing how goals shape intentions and behavior
how well do intentions predict behavior?
moderate-strong correlation
do intentions cause behavior?
yes
- medium-large change in intention = small-medium change in behavior
why is there a gap between intentions and behavior
- disconnect between intentions and behavior can be due to failing to act on positive intentions (incline abstainer), but also due to acting when intention is negative (disinclined actor)
- there are more inclined abstainers than disinclined actors
reasons for failing to act
what is the shape of attitude-behavior relation
close to linear in structure
probability of a life event plotted against the previous year’s satisfaction integer
categorical perspective
perception of attitude is categorical
attitude-strength perspective
stronger attitudes have more impact on behavior
- more extreme attitudes are stronger
- more extreme attitudes have a bigger effect on behavior
study 1: voting in US 2018 midterm election for congress
self-report attitude towards all candidates in their district
- 1 = extremely against
- 9 = extremely in favor
study 3: hypothetical purchases
how many (candles, books, sculptures, plants) would you buy if you were decorating a living room in a new home
- attitude toward object rated on scale from extremely negative (1) to extremely positive (7)
study 4: likelihood of voting
hypothesis: categorical perspective applies only to valenced behaviors (e.g. purchase of product, voting for specific candidate), but not to non valenced behavior
- non valenced behavior: action that relates to an attitude object, but does not imply a positive or negative attitude toward that object
study 5: analysis of online reviews from online shop
attitudes measured as product ratings (1-5)
- behavioral intention: would recommend product (yes/no)
- discussion point: for high-barrier behavior, threshold point might not be at neutral, but at more extreme value
implications for persuasion and behavioral change
tailor persuasive messages to the strongest determinant of the behavioral intention (attitudes, norms, control)
- identify specific (behavioral, normative, control) beliefs that are basis of behavior and target those
- estimate shape of attitude-behavior relation
- consider what attitude change has most impact on behavioral intention
principle of compatibility
once the behavior has been defined in theory of planned behavior, all other constructs in the theory must correspond to the behavior in all four elements
- target, action, context, time frame
attitudes across valence
attitudes that differ across valence are perceived as more different than attitudes that differ within valence
- greater differences in behavior as attitudes move across neutral, shifting between negative and positive (only for valenced behavior)
